Egg shell thin as paper ?

[grego86]

I was walking around my yard today hunting eggs since my hens have decided to lay them in the bushes now. Anyways, one of the eggs I found right away I could tell looked odd. I picked it up and my thumb nearly went right through it. The shell was so thin and flexible I barely could hold it in my hand with any pressure. Also it wasn't your typical egg shape. One side was kinda flat. I'm guessing because the egg shell was so thin and flexible. Is this a vitamin problem? I feed them every morning with layer pellets. So far this is the only egg I've found like this.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I was walking around my yard today hunting eggs since my hens have decided to lay them in the bushes now. Anyways, one of the eggs I found right away I could tell looked odd. I picked it up and my thumb nearly went right through it. The shell was so thin and flexible I barely could hold it in my hand with any pressure. Also it wasn't your typical egg shape. One side was kinda flat. I'm guessing because the egg shell was so thin and flexible. Is this a vitamin problem? I feed them every morning with layer pellets. So far this is the only egg I've found like this.

The egg is what is called "shell-less" - the "shell" you saw on the egg is actually the membrane that goes around the egg between the yolk and white and the outer shell. It is not at all uncommon for a bird to lay one now and then, especially with new layers or layers who are coming back into production after a break (ie after a molt). If the eggs become routine, that is when it is indicative of a problem such as low calcium intake, etc -- as long as it is just the occasional "blip" it is more an issue of just not all the parts in the egg machine remembered to do their part that day, namely the last step - the shell gland - skipped work that day.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Incidentally, if you don't enjoy the daily egg hunts you can easily retrain them to lay where you want them to (ie in nest boxes if you are using them).

 

[grego86]

For a couple weeks I had a giant snake problem and finally killed it I think. I filled my boxes up with golf balls, took it a week but it finally ate some and hasn't been back. But I think the snake has scared my hens from using the coop because one was attacked while sitting on some eggs that were suppose to hatch within a couple of days. BTW the hen did survive and is fine and another hen had a baby chick stolen from her by this snake. I left golf balls in coop a while longer hoping they would start laying again in the boxes but no luck

 

[smithychick]

Chickens that have suffered trauma can also lay very thin eggs. The snake may have had something to do with it. Congrats on getting rid of the snake! Sorry for the loss of her chick.